January Highlights
News and events from Bristol Books this January
News and events from Bristol Books this January
Meet the author: Jackie Strachan
We speak to guidebook author, Jackie Strachan, about her new book Days Out Around Bristol, Bath & Somerset. Find out more about her inspiration for writing the book and some of the surprising places she discovered when she did her research for it.
Bristol’s top 10 vegan places
Where are the best vegan and vegan-friendly places in Bristol? To celebrate Veganuary we’ve shared our list of the top 10 vegan spots, chosen by the experts behind the Vegan Bristol book, to showcase the best vegan places the city has to offer.
What Bristol Book would you like to read?
Is there a person, place, theme, event or subject in Bristol’s past or present that you think deserves a book being published about it? We’re keen to know more about what new local book you’d like to see Bristol Books publishing in 2026. Please get in touch with your suggestions.
And the winner is…
Congratulations to Peter and Ann Lisle-Taylor from Tetbury who were the lucky winners of our competition to win a £50 Bristol Books voucher. Thanks to everyone who took part in the competition and a big welcome to all of our new subscribers who signed up to our mailing list.
PICTURE THIS…
Unexploded Satan bomb, Knowle
Unexploded Satan bomb being removed from outside 7 Beckington Road, Knowle. During 1940-41 Bristol suffered some of the most concentrated air raids in Britain. It experienced more the 30 bombing attacks with 1,299 civilians killed and 3,305 injured. This image is taken from Manson’s Bristol Miscellany: Volume 2.
Bristol’s top 10 vegan places
Where are the best vegan and vegan-friendly places in Bristol? We’ve shared our list of the top 10 vegan spots, chosen by the experts behind the Vegan Bristol book, to showcase the best places the city has to offer.
Where are the best vegan and vegan-friendly places in Bristol? We’ve shared our list of the top 10 vegan spots, chosen by the experts behind the Vegan Bristol book, to showcase the best places the city has to offer.
Root, Gaol Ferry Steps (photo: Helena Murphy)
Best for Special Occasions...
Root
Unit 9, Cargo 1, Gaol Ferry Steps, BS1 6WP | rootbristol.co.uk
Elevated small plates in the heart of Wapping Wharf
Best for Lunch...
Yafo
238 North Street, BS3 1JD | yafo.co.uk
Laid-back Middle Eastern-inspired cafe serving seriously good food all day
Best for Brunch...
Bristol Loaf
96 Bedminster Parade, BS3 4HL • Beacon, Trenchard Street, BS1 5AR • 213 Church Road, Redfield, BS5 9HF | thebristolloaf.co.uk
A bustling community hub serving bread, cakes and much more
Kibou Kitchen & Bar, King’s Road (photo: Helena Murphy)
Best for a Date Night...
Kibou Kitchen & Bar
16 King’s Road, BS8 4AB | kibou.co.uk
Elegant Japanese dining with a large selection of vegan sushi, ramen and more
Best for Grab and Go...
Eatchu
1 Queens Row, Triangle, BS8 1EZ • Exchange Avenue, BS1 1JQ • City Business Park, St Jude’s, BS5 0SP | eatchu.co.uk
Delightful dumplings, rice boxes and noodles to go
Best for Big Groups...
Thali Montpelier
12 York Road, BS6 5QE | thalirestaurant.co.uk
Thali curries and tiffin takeaways made to family recipes
Ahh Toots, Christmas Street (photo: Helena Murphy)
Best for Sweet Treats...
Ahh Toots
17, Christmas Street, BS1 5BT | ahhtoots.co.uk
A mountain of sweet treats housed in a fairy-tale Tudor building
Best for Families...
Tobacco Factory Café Bar
Raleigh Road, BS3 1TF | tobaccofactory.com
Amorphous, vibrant space that serves the whole community
Best for Dogs...
The Old Bookshop
65 North Street, BS3 1ES | theoldbookshopbristol.com
European-inspired neighbourhood bar in the heart of North Street
Best for Delivery...
Cheung’s Vegan Kitchen
89 St. Marks Road, BS5 6HY | cheungsvegankitchen.com
Long-standing Chinese takeaway with a fully plant-based menu
BRISTOL’S BEST PLACES FOR PLANT BASED FOOD
Ben McCabe & Helena Murphy
Vegan Bristol is a guide to the most tantalising spots to discover amazing vegan food in Bristol. Featuring a curated selection of the best vegan and vegan-friendly establishments across a range of cuisines and cultures – from restaurants and cafés to pubs and pop-ups – this guide is the sure-fire way to find your next delicious plant-based meal in the South West’s cultural capital, regardless of your budget and desires.
In Vegan Bristol, you’ll find:
An introduction to Bristol’s extensive vegan food scene
More than 40 locations carefully researched and chosen for their quality and atmosphere
Detailed information about each location, as well as useful insights such as takeaway options
Provision listings and ‘Best places for...’ guide
Vegan Bristol, by Ben McCabe and Helena Murphy is a guide to the most tantalising spots to discover amazing vegan food in Bristol. In Vegan Bristol, you’ll find:
• An introduction to Bristol’s extensive vegan food scene
• More than 40 locations carefully researched and chosen for their quality and atmosphere
• Detailed information about each location, as well as useful insights such as takeaway options
• Provision listings and ‘Best places for...’ guide
Meet the Author: Jackie Strachan
We speak to guidebook author, Jackie Strachan, about her new book Days Out Around Bristol, Bath & Somerset and find out more about the book, her inspiration for writing it and some of her local highlights.
We speak to guidebook author, Jackie Strachan, about her new book Days Out Around Bristol, Bath & Somerset and find out more about the book, her inspiration for writing it and some of her local highlights.
Author, Jackie Strachan
1. What inspired you to write the guide?
It began with my customary jog along the beach at Weston-super-Mare and thinking that Weston deserved a proper guidebook. Then it seemed to make sense to add on nearby places within a short drive from Weston, and it just mushroomed from there.
2. How long did it take you to go from idea to finished book?
Too long, my normal work kept getting in the way. I am not sure exactly how long it took in the end, but probably at least five years, with various stops and starts, and then a great deal of checking and revising toward the end to make everything as up to date as possible.
3. What experience did you have in the world of publishing prior to writing this book?
I have always worked in publishing, having fallen into it by accident post college. I graduated from account administration to selling the foreign rights to books on gardening, history and so on, which was great for broadening travel horizons, and then moved onto the editorial side of things as a publishing director in non-fiction (including travel) books.
4. How did you choose which locations to include?
From personal knowledge, checking the places covered by other books to make sure I didn’t miss out anything important, being a leaflet hound and always on the lookout for local information, but especially from getting out and about and just being nosy, following any ‘brown signs’ that indicated a gap in my knowledge.
5. Did any destinations surprise you during your research — perhaps places you hadn’t ever visited before?
So many, it’s very easy to live in a place for years and never really get to know it. The massive medieval castle slap bang in the middle of the tiny village of Nunney; the ponds, paths and lush greenery around the delightful Willsbridge Mill on the outskirts of Bristol; Aller and its dragon and name check in the history of England; the beautiful Arts & Crafts interior of St Hugh’s Chapel in the Mendips; the peaceful Litton Lakes, just 3 miles from the far more famous Chew Valley Lake; the extraordinary life-size-plus carving of a fisherman with leaping salmon at Black Rock picnic site on the banks of the Severn. The list goes on.
6. Which places from the book would you personally recommend for a rainy day?
I’d start with Oakham Treasures just outside Bristol, where you can spend hours spotting the everyday objects we all had around our homes; the Rural Life Museum at Glastonbury which is wonderfully evocative; Weston’s superb Helicopter Museum with over 100 aircraft; the Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon, where you come face-to-face with legionaries in full regalia. But again there are many more.
7. Why did you include garden centres as well as vineyards and artisan cheese and cider makers?
The book is intended to give people ideas for all kinds of things to do in our region. They are a popular choice for popping into en route to somewhere else, and are even a destination in their own right for some people; the larger ones are like mini department stores.
8. Would you do it all over again?
Yes, it has been a joy. I learned so much and realised how ignorant I was about our region. Not that I would ever claim to know it all now by any means, but I will regale anyone who will listen with ‘Did you know that …..?’ Few have escaped so far!
Days Out Around Bristol, Bath & Somerset
This guidebook is packed with ideas for great days out within an hour or so’s drive, with suggestions to suit your mood, schedule and starting point. From the Mendip Hills and Somerset Levels, to South Wales, the southern Cotswolds, the Coast and its resorts. This guide will help you explore what is on the doorstep or to venture further afield along paths less travelled.
Including South Wales & South Cotswolds
Where shall we go today? Crook Peak, the Avalon Marshes, the Wye Valley? Or perhaps Bruton, Glastonbury or Clevedon? This book is packed with ideas for great days out within around an hour or so’s drive, with suggestions to suit your mood, schedule and starting point. From the Mendip Hills and Somerset Levels, to South Wales, the southern Cotswolds, the Coast and its resorts. Quirky facts and background information provide context, while divided into micro-regions, maps provide orientation. This guide will help you explore what is on the doorstep or to venture further afield along paths less travelled.
December Highlights
News and events from Bristol Books this December
News and events from Bristol Books this December
Take the Bristol Miscellany Quiz 2025
This Christmas we have another Bristol-themed festive quiz for you to test your local knowledge. The questions are all inspired by historical facts from the brilliant Manson’s Bristol Miscellany - the perfect gift for a Bristolian this Christmas! Why not share the quiz with your friends or work colleagues and see who scores highest?
OUT NOW!
Self Portrait with Animals
Martin Rieser
In this collection of Ekphrastic verses, Bristol poet, Martin Rieser, reflects on personal identity and agency inspired by pictures that include images of animals by some of the world’s most revered artists. These poems will surprise and delight the reader, and the pictures will never be seen again without the verses echoing long in the viewer’s mind.
Bristol Books in Little Book Stop
Bristol Books have donated a selection of books to the Little Book Stop, located in Redfield’s 3ft 6 Cafe on Lancaster Street. The cafe was chosen as one of 90 locations by Penguin in partnership with the non-profit Little Free Library. The community bookshelves are looked after by volunteer and cafe co-owner Jack Barnett. Find out more about our community impact here.
Get your local Christmas gifts
Looking for gifting inspiration? Take a look at our Christmas book guide. Whether you are buying a Secret Santa for a friend, or choosing a special gift for a family member, we have a huge range of local books to choose from. There’s also a 10% discount code inside!
December events
Bristol Books @ Chew Magna Christmas Fayre
2pm – 5:30pm, Saturday 6th December
St Andrew’s Church, Chew Magna
Visit the Bristol Books stand in St Andrew’s Church, Chew Magna and find the perfect local Christmas gift. Festive events will be taking place across the village including a lights switch-on, plus performances by the school choir and Congresbury brass band.
Book launch: Self Portrait with Animals
Martin Rieser
7:30pm, Tuesday 2nd December
The John Sebastian Lightship, Bathurst Basin
Supporting poets include: Sophie Dumont, Lisa Lopresti, Agata Palmer, Naomi Madlock, Pete Weinstock, and David Punter.
The Life & Times of Harry Dolman
Talk by author Clive Burlton on the multi-millionaire, inventor, draughtsman and engineer, Harry Dolman OBE, who’s love of football led him to Bristol City Football Club where he became director, chairman and president.
7:30pm, Friday 5th December
Stoke Bishop Local History Group, Stoke Bishop Village Hall
7:30pm, Thursday 11th December
Long Ashton Local History Society, Jubilee Pavilion
PICTURE THIS…
Downend’s memorial to the greatest cricketer
The opening of the WG Grace Memorial Pavilion at Downend Cricket Club on 6th June 1922. Born in Downend, Bristol in 1848, William Gilbert Grace was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. This image is taken from A History of the Bristol & District Cricket Association, by Trevor Crouch and Edwin Morris.
The Bristol Miscellany Quiz 2025
This Christmas we’re once again delighted to provide you with a new festive quiz for you and your friends or work colleagues to share.
This Christmas we have another Bristol-themed festive quiz for you to test your local knowledge. The questions are all inspired by historical facts from the brilliant Manson’s Bristol Miscellany - the perfect gift for a Bristolian this Christmas! Why not share the quiz with your friends or work colleagues and see who scores highest?
Who is commemorated with a statue on Narrow Quay, outside Arnolfini?
Which river was diverted in 1239 to expand the Bristol quayside?
Which famous Bath-based architect built Bristol’s Corn Exchange building?
The Nails on Corn Street are made of what type of metal?
Bird’s Eye, Honeydew and Three Castles were the names given to what type of Bristol-made product?
Where would one visit to be cured of ‘hot livers, feeble brains and red pimply faces’ in 17th century Bristol?
What Victorian feature can be found in Mina Road Park, St Werburghs?
The University of Bristol’s Health Research Institute is named in honour of which female doctor?
What is a Bristol Lodekka?
Where is the social campaigner Raja Rammohun Roy buried in Bristol?
What’s the name of Bristol’s specially designed fireboat, often moored outside M Shed?
Dr Paul Stephenson OBE organised a boycott against which company in 1960’s Bristol?
Which square was the site of the Bristol Riots of 1831?
Is the river Severn the longest river in the UK?
The Smyth family were the owners of which Bristol Estate?
Where was the Roman port of Abonae in Bristol?
The Llandoger Trow in King Street is named after what?
What century was the county of Bristol created?
Where in the Bristol Channel did Marconi send his first radio transmission from?
What was the name of the Monastery in the centre of Bristol, dissolved by Henry VIII?
How did you do? All the answers can be found on the link below.
How much do you know about Bristol? Why does it look the way it looks? What secrets do its streets hide? What stories could its buildings tell if they had a voice?
Michael Manson takes you on a search to find the soul of the city where he has lived for more than 45 years.